I'll Be there for you
by TeeFly
Summary: Bones is there for Booth after a buddy of his dies. Read to find out more.
1. Double Date?

**Disclaimer**: I do not own them…I swear.

**Double Date?**

Booth and Bones sat on his couch mere inches apart intently watching the show that was on the television, neither even noticing how close they had grown since the show had begun. They had initially been on opposite sides of the couch but slowly as the show dragged on they had gotten into their current position. A few more minutes passed and their arguing could be heard down the hall.

"Bones, of course he is going back to her I mean hello she is pregnant." Booth said standing up now and waving his arms in protest.

"No Booth, just because she is pregnant doesn't mean he wants her back. Its just not logical." She stated with complete certainty.

"Well Bones people aren't logical they are irrational when it comes to love."

"I can stay rational." She protested.

"Yeah, well Bones no offense but you aren't exactly normal."

She gave him a look but continued. "Whatever I stand by what I said. He isn't going to go back to her."

"Maybe you're right, plus I don't know about you but I sense something going on between him and his partner." He said with a wink and his most charming smile.

"Booth that wouldn't be ethical." She protested. But when he gave her a look she caved. "Maybe he does like her and maybe she feels the same, but do you honestly think they would risk their jobs and their friendship over it?" she questioned.

"Honesty I have no clue I guess we'll have to wait until next season and see."

"Come on Booth can't you find out early." She prodded.

"No Bones I can't."

"Come on I'm sure you could get them to tell you I mean you are in the FBI." She said excitedly.

"Okay Bones think about this for one minute. What do you want me to say? Excuse me Mr. Wolf but I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth with the FBI and I need to talk to you regarding the future of you're show Law & Order: SVU?" he said jokingly.

"Yeah well tell me why not?"

"Bones, lets be serious for two seconds okay, it's not going to happen."

"Fine, I guess you're right. I just don't want to wait for like four months." She said grumpily.

"Well, honey, that's what you get when you watch TV shows." Booth smiled. He had sat back on the couch again and they both were aware of how close they had become.

_Did he just call me honey? I wonder what he means by that. I need to talk to Angela, but how? Wait I know. _"Hey Booth how about I call Ange and Hodgins and see if they want to come watch the first season with us?" she asked praying he would agree.

He was glad for any excuse not to be alone with her anymore and agreed. While she called he went to make some more popcorn.

"Angela." She answered on the first ring.

"Thank God you're home. I was wondering if you and Hodgins want to come over to Booths place and watch a show with us." Please say yes she silently prayed.

"You mean like a double date?" Angela teased.

"No, we would just be four friends, but if you don't want to its fine." She said hoping she could tell she needed her to come.

"Sweetie, of course well come. Just give us a couple minutes to get ready, okay?"

"Sure and Ange I need to talk to you about something." She added.

"Okay what is it?" Angela said worried.

"Not now when you come okay."

"Sure, bye." She hung up from Angela feeling ten times better than she did before. Finally she had someone to decipher the code of men, which seemed to always escape her but for Ange it was like a second language that she could fluently speak at the drop of a hat. She was pulled out of her thoughts by a loud voice.

"Bones, do you see my DVD in there I can't find it anywhere."

She searched for a minute then told him she had found it under a jacket on his chair. He was always so messy it was a wonder he was able to find anything at all.

"Thank you Jesus, I was beginning to think it had pulled a Houdini on me." He said smiling. Bones didn't know the joke.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said in adorable confusion. He loved to explain things to her.

"Houdini, the magician." He probed. She shook her head. "Come on Bones he's only the greatest magician to ever exist." He stated now exasperated.

"I'm sorry but I don't know who he is."

"You have to know Houdini its like not knowing who Elvis is. Its almost a sin."

"I know Elvis." She stated wide eyed.

"Come on Bones, famous magician. Died doing a magic trick." He continued to attempt to get her to remember what he was sure she had forgotten. After all everybody knew Houdini. Right?

When Angela and Hodgins arrived they could hear the arguing all the way down the hall and exchanged we knew it glances as they knocked on the door.

Booth made one last ditch attempt before answering. "Angela, Hodgins come on in." he said politely as ever. Like they hadn't just heard the yelling that had taken place moments before.

"Thanks, Booth don't mind if we do." Angela teased.

"Angela, I'm so glad you're here I need to talk to you." Everyone looked at her as if they knew what she was thinking and she hated it. "In private."

"Oh, you can use my room." Booth suggested trying to be helpful.

"Thanks." And they were gone.

"You know who Houdini is right?" Booth questioned Hodgins.

"Yes, why?"

"Just wondering." And Booth felt like he'd won a private battle she didn't know they were having.

(In Booth's room)

"What is it honey?" Angela said when she had finally let her arm go and shut the door.

"Well I was just wondering if you could tell me what it means when a guy calls you honey."

"In what context?" she questioned.

"In normal conversation, its just early when we were talking Booth called me honey and I need to know what it means." She said eyes wide with fear.

Angela laughed. "Well it obviously means he's madly in love with you and wants to marry you." She joked.

"Ange I'm serious." Bones protested.

"Well, _honey, _truth be told I don't know what it means but I bet if we go out there," she pointed to the living room, "we'd find out."

"I guess you're right." When they walked into the room they heard the guys talking so they decided to spy for a minute before entering.

"Yeah I totally agree Benson is way hotter that Novak, but you know I have always been partial to the darker haired women." Booth stated in a matter of fact tone.

"Same here, but you know what I've always wondered, why hasn't her partner seen how hot she is yet?" Hodgins asked.

"Maybe he is blind, cause damn is she fine?" And they both laughed.

"What are you boys talking about?" Angela questioned throwing Bones a wink.

"Nothing." Hodgins lied.

"Okay, and is part of that nothing how hot Benson is?" she questioned with a smile.

Recognizing defeat Hodgins replied innocently. "Yes."

They gathered on the couch and flipped the DVD in. About two hours in the phone rang. They paused the DVD while Booth answered the phone.

"Booth."

"Seeley, it's been a while how are you?" A familiar voice from his past asked. It was Jake Malloy's wife, and old army buddy of his, they were inseparable back in those days.

"I've been good. How about you?" he asked though for some reason he was scared of the answer.

"Not so good, Seeley, Jake is in Mercy General, the doctors say he doesn't have long and well he's been asking for you all day. I know it's a lot to ask but can you maybe come up and say goodbye." He heard the tears in her voice and knew how hard this must be for her. Jake and she had been together since they were twelve and had three young boys around Parkers age.

"It's no trouble at all. Of course I'll be there. Is tomorrow soon enough?"

"Yeah Seeley tomorrow should be fine."

"Susan I am so sorry, I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Oh and Seeley if you can bring Parker, he really wants to see him."

"Sure thing, see you tomorrow. Bye." As he hung up he felt like throwing something or simply throwing himself down and crying. Why Jake? He had never done anything to deserve this. He was a good man and a good father. He walked into the living room like a zombie, ready to fall apart at any moment. When he appeared the room grew silent they sensed something different. Bones was the one who questioned it when he sat down beside her.

"Booth are you okay?"

He looked at her with tears in his eyes and then dropped his head in his hands as he said. "No, Jake Malloy, an old buddy of mine is going to die Bones. That was his wife. I can't believe he's going to die."

He let himself go and just began crying and shaking. It broke Bones heart to see him like this. She wanted to cry herself for him. But she knew he needed her now more than he ever had. She wrapped her arms around him and let him cry while holding onto her for dear life. He had always been there for her and now it was her turn to be there for him and she wasn't going to let him down.


	2. Awkward Encounters

**Authors Note**: I am sooooo sooooo very incredibly sorry for taking sooo long to update…honestly I kind of forgot I wrote this story…hope you enjoy…

**Awkward Encounters?!**

They drove toward Rebecca's house to pick up Parker. Booth had called her and explained everything. She had said how sorry she was and agreed to let Parker come. She would have him ready by the time they arrived. Bones took a chance to glance over at Booth, he was sitting there looking out the window, pain etched on his handsome face. She saw a line glistening from a newly fallen tear, and it broke her heart. She reached out and put a comforting hand on his shoulder, looking for the words that would make it better but he spoke first.

"Hey Bones, how about we keep both hands on the wheel?" he attempted to say in his usual charming tone, but the knot in his throat made his voice quake.

"Okay. But you know I am a very good driver." She said in her usual tone of adorable defense.

"Okay. I'll believe that when I see it." He joked, a small smile creeping back over his grief stricken face.

Across town at Rebecca's house

"Parker, baby, will you come here for a minute?" Rebecca said searching her mind for the right words to tell her young son. He loved Jake. She didn't know how he was going to handle this. Booth could barely handle it himself and he was a grown man.

"Yeah mom?" Parker said sitting on the couch. Rebecca came over and sat next to him. Her calm demeanor made him nervous.

"Mom is everything okay…Is dad okay?" he questioned fear apparent in his tiny voice.

"Oh yes baby your dad is fine. Actually he's coming over right now. Do you remember Jake McCoy?"

"You mean daddy's old army friend?"

"Yep, well you see honey he's really sick. He's actually in Mercy General and he wants to see you and your dad real bad. So daddy is coming to pick you up and take you there to see him."

"Is daddy okay?" Parker asked knowing that his dad and Jake had been friends for a really long time.

"He will be, but you need to be strong for him okay. Also I need you to go and pack, your dad will be here any minute."

"Okay." He said running out of the room.

Back to Booth

Bones decided to pull into a Wal Mart parking lot to 'compose' herself, but Booth knew she was giving him some time and he was grateful. This time she spoke first, turning sideways she took his hand in hers. "Booth I'm not really good at this sort of thing. Usually I would ask you or Ange what to say but I want you, no I need you to know how sorry I am. I know how much he means to you." She said a tear rolling down her face.

He smiled, finally looking up and for a second when he did she was overwhelmed with what she saw. His eyes were brimming over with tears and the mountain of a man she had always known seemed to have crumbled before her very eyes. Clearing his throat he said, "Thanks Bones."

They sat there for a moment just looking into each others eyes. Booth didn't know what was going on but he couldn't look away from Bones and he didn't really want to. He began to lean in when some jerk behind them honked and cussed.

"We better go." Bones said awkwardly turning away from him. I can't believe I almost just kissed Booth. Again.

"Yeah, you're right."

They pulled up to Rebecca's house. Bones glanced over at Booth to see what he wanted her to do. He was asleep. He looked so sweet and so peaceful she decided not to disturb him. She walked up to the door, took a deep calming breath and knocked.

"Dr. Brennan, what are you doing here?" she questioned with a confused glare.

"Booth said he called you. I…well we are here to pick up Parker, Booth he fell asleep and I didn't have the heart to wake him."

"Oh…you are going with Booth to New York?" She suspiciously questioned.

"Yeah he really needs a friend right now."

"Friend, right?" Rebecca murmured. She knew she had no right to be, but she was jealous.

"What?"

"Oh, noth.." she began before Parker bashed into her.

"Is daddy here?"

"Yes. Daddy is asleep in the car so Dr. Brennan is here." She bent down and kissed his cheek. "Now you be good and mind your dad and Dr. Brennan okay."

"Yes mam." Parker said hugging his mom. As Rebecca watched them walk away she couldn't help but feel left out. She knew Dr. Brennan was in love with Seeley and she could tell by the way he looked at her that he loved her to. She remembered a time when he had looked at her with love in his eyes, but yet she knew he had never looked at her with the kind of love he had for "Bones." She figured that that was what hurt the most. She had always known that her and Booth weren't soul mates but that didn't stop her from loving him more than anybody else she had ever known. Now that Booth had found that special person the fact that they were really over hit her. It was a bitter-sweet end.

"Bones are you coming with us to New York?" the small boy in the back seat questioned.

"Yeah, I am. I hope you don't mind." She said in a smaller tone than usual.

"Not at all, I'm sure we'll have lots of fun." Parker said smiling, a plan for getting his dad and Bones together forming in his adorable little head.


	3. Getting There

**A/N: **OMG so I feel really bad about taking so long to keep writing this story, I guess my inspiration left me for a little bit but no worries it is back and I should be updating it quite frequently so anyway I hope you enjoy.

**Getting There…**

Booth wandered through the airport toward the terminal that was his transportation. He felt numb, his feet dragged him forward almost on their own accord his mind racing with fear and grief. Suddenly a small hand reached up and intertwined with his, making his heart lighten a little bit.

"Daddy are you okay?" Parker questioned, his small voice etched with fear.

"I'm sad buddy, but I'll be fine okay? I promise." Booth stated attempting his best to keep his voice even.

"Okay Daddy." Parker answered smiling.

"Booth, we don't want to miss the plane." Brennan stated in a softer voice than the one she usually used.

"Yeah you are right. Come on Parker." Booth said taking his hand once again and walking through the gate. It wasn't until they were actually on the plane that he noticed his ticket said first class.

"Bones I think they gave us the wrong tickets." he stated in a surprised voice. Brennan glanced over at his ticket, a small smile forming on her face.

"No Booth, these are the right ones." she smiled brightly.

"Bones, you got us first class tickets?" he questioned slightly shocked by the sudden revelation. She merely nodded. He wordlessly mouthed thank you as they made their way to the seats that they would be sitting in. Parker got the window seat, Booth the middle, and Brennan sat near the aisle.

It wasn't a long plane ride, but the minutes seemed to tick by slowly for Booth, after all when you are going to see one of your best friends on their death bed the world seems a sad and lonely place.

"Daddy do you think Jeff will want to play cops and robbers with me?" Parker questioned about halfway through the plane ride.

"I'm sure he would love to play with you Parker." he smiled back, momentarily caught up in the ominous feeling of the moment. Jake's kids wouldn't have a father to raise them, they would be alone, maybe it would have been better if his father hadn't been around but Jake was different, he was a great man, he would be so missed.

"Booth?" Brennan questioned glancing at him with a worried expression on her beautiful face.

"Yea Bones?" he questioned looking at her with a sad puppy dog look that broke her heart.

"What can I do to make you feel better? I mean I really don't know what to do, people aren't really my area of expertise." she stated looking into his grief stricken face.

"Just the fact that you are here, that is all I need." he said in a quiet tone, stealing a glance at his now sleeping son.

"I'm really sorry Booth, I don't know what else to say. Were you and Jake good friends?" she stated attempting to bring out his happier memories of his old friend.

He smiled a strained smile before answering, "Best friends, he was like an older brother to me, he took me under his wing, helped me out, and he was there for me at a time in my life when I really needed somebody to tell me everything was going to be okay, that I was going to be okay. He was my hero. Hell I named my son after him Bones, his name was Jake Parker Malloy, I wanted Parker to have a name that meant something to me, I wanted him to grow up to be the kind of man Jake is, I just wanted him to…" Booth finished breaking off at the end, tears threatening to spill once again.

"Booth it's okay…I understand…" Brennan began to say before she was cut off by a stewardess.

"Excuse me, can I get you or your husband anything?" she stated in a very polite voice, looking at Parker and smiling, before either had a chance to correct her she stated, "You have a very beautiful son."

"Thank you but we are fine." Brennan stated momentarily too caught up in Booth's grief to comprehend what 'Katie' had said.

After Katie had left she turned back to Booth who was smiling his bright charming smile that almost knocked her over every time she saw it, a fact she was very good at hiding actually.

"What?" Brennan stated confused by his sudden happiness.

"Bones, she thought we were married and Parker was our son, you didn't say anything, you always say something." he laughed a small laugh.

"Oh I wasn't aware, I must have been thinking of something else." Brennan stated slightly embarrassed at the situation.

"Sure." he smiled, and for the first time since he had heard the news, it didn't feel like the world was crumbling down around him. Maybe there was a light at the end of the dark tunnel he was in right now, and maybe just maybe, her name was Temperance Brennan.

* * *

Yay!!!! Okay so I'm not really all to thrilled with this chapter, the next one will be better, I'm just getting back into the groove of writing for Booth/Brennan. Click the little button to tell me your thoughts.


	4. AUTHORS NOTE!

**AUTHORS NOTE**: Hey everybody I'm sorry it is taking me a while to update, I have already written the next chapter, but I haven't had the time to type it out yet because I am in the middle of a huge school project with speeches, I love you all who reviewed and favorited my story, and I will get the next chapter up as soon as I can…thank you for sticking with this story!


	5. IceCream and Bonding

**A/N: **Hey everyone, I'm such a terrible fanfic writer, I'm sooo sorry about the incredibly long time it has taken me to update and about this incredibly short chapter, but I was super busy with school and then I got sick, so yep but I have finally found the time to update this story though…hope you enjoy!"

**Ice-Cream and Bonding**

When they stepped off the plane and into the airport terminal all Brennan could think about was how to make Booth go through as little as possible in this whole terrible ordeal. She had never really been good at dealing with death the normal way, the only way she knew how to deal with things like that was to compartmentalize, rationalize, and then to simply move on. But Booth was different. He dealt with things on a different level, he took things to heart. She wasn't sure which approach was better, she just hoped that maybe their different approaches combined would be enough to bring Booth back from the brink she feared he was on.

Booth walked through the airport in an almost zombie-like state for the second time that day, holding Parker and Brennan's respective hands like they were his strongest connection to reality. It frightened Brennan to see Booth like this, he was usually so strong, and even when he wasn't he turned to anger more rapidly than sorrow. She assumed that the thought of losing Jake was equivalent to losing a brother to Booth, she couldn't quite understand the correlation, but she felt the bond was as strong.

"Daddy can I get some ice-cream?" Parker questioned tearing them both from their thoughts.

"Sure buddy." Booth answered smiling down at Parker, a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. When Parker returned the smile Brennan imagined he was a lot like Booth at that age, with the exception of having a crappy father who abused him. Just something about Parker was so Booth-esque, she momentarily wondered if Booth had more kids would they be as cute, sweet, and like him as Parker was, she found that idea a comforting one, though she wasn't entirely sure why.

They arrived at the ice cream stand rather quickly.

"I want Rocky Road." Parker stated excitedly beaming up at his Dad and this time when Booth smiled down at him it was genuine.

"Me too." Booth smirked turning his attention to Brennan now. "You?!"

"Three Rocky Road's it is." she said, and smiled when she saw Parker's evident excitement at their newly found similar interests.

Once everything was brought to them they found a small table in the back, which was slightly quieter than everywhere else, and sat down.

"So guess what we did in school the other day Dr. Bones?"

"What?" Brennan questioned honestly interested in what he was going to say.

"Well when we were playing outside for recess my friend Mikey and I found this small bird and it was dead and we took it to our science teacher and he let us do an autopsy on it!" he smiled excitedly!

"Actually an autopsy on an animal is called…" Brennan began but stopped short when Booth gave her a look, Parker however was too wrapped up in his ice-cream to notice the small exchange. "That's cool." she finished when the boy looked up at her.

"I know it was awesome!" he stated enthusiastically bouncing up and down in his chair.

"You seem to have a real knack for the scientific side of things." Brennan stated as a mere observation.

"Yep, Daddy says I'm part squint." he laughed.

Brennan and Booth shared a quick affectionate glance.

"Well I think you are part squint, part special agent. You are the perfect combination of both sides of things." Brennan said smiling at him.

"Really?!" he questioned his eyes wide with excitement.

"Yes, I never lie."

"Daddy told me that too." Parker smiled taking a spoonful of ice-cream and eating it.

Once the ice-cream had been consumed they decided to head to their hotel and get settled in, after all tomorrow would be a long hard day for the Booth family.

* * *

Well that is this chapter once again, I'm terribly sorry for the long update and the shortness of it, I will try my hardest to keep writing in regular increments…if you enjoyed or even if you didn't leave a review, give me constructive criticism if you didn't enjoy it…but just so you know flames will only be laughed at.


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